Veterinary professionals: Follow your heart

Secrets have power. They have a strange ability to both grant and consume emotional energy. What if veterinarians could share secrets about their professional struggles and find comfort in seeing that they were not alone? In 2014, Hilal Dogan, BVSc, created the Vet Confessionals Project to address this quandary. Since then, dvm360.com has received hundreds of secrets, many of which present a painful reality of life as a veterinarian.

Dr. Dogan doesn't let that discourage her. Here she explains how mindfulness and meditation go a long way toward finding peace.

Hopping around

I definitely feel that working relief and moving into new positions at various clinics has been beneficial for my growth as a veterinarian. I know it “looks bad” when you hop around so much, but it's so important to keep on moving. I'm always teetering on the edge of my comfort zone, sometimes stepping in and then out again.

Click on this image (if you dare) to see some vet confessions.Checking that ego

I let go of judgment and check my ego at the door. It surprisingly helps me enjoy my work more ... although there are moments where my ego sneaks back in, so that is a daily decision I have to practice.

No guilt

I make sure I take lots of time to sleep, meditate, relax and make my life outside of work a priority too (and not feel guilty about it!). Most of all I try and lead my life through following my heart and intuition. If I stick by that, everything is manageable.

Spacing out

I've always been extremely fascinated with outer space and the cosmos. I probably would've become an astrophysicist ... or some sort of job that involved studying the universe. Sometimes I think being a veterinarian is such a small scale of work when you think of how big the universe is ... but then again there is a place for it in this world that is just as important.